Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, has successfully packed and shipped two Mars-bound spacecraft to Cape Canaveral, FL in preparation for launch. These twin spacecraft for the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) heliophysics mission were designed, built, integrated, and tested by Rocket Lab for the University of California Berkeley’s Space Science Laboratory and NASA.

The spacecraft, known as Blue and Gold, recently completed comprehensive assembly, integration, and test at Rocket Lab’s Spacecraft Production Complex and headquarters in Long Beach, California. Following this milestone, the Rocket Lab team conducted final closeout activities, including the installation of spacecraft solar arrays and multi-layer insulation (MLI) blankets, before they were packaged and shipped to Florida for launch.

Upon arrival at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex, Rocket Lab team members will transfer the spacecraft to a cleanroom for post-transport inspections and tests. Following thorough checks, the team will commence preparation for fueling the spacecraft in anticipation of their upcoming launch on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket.

“We’ve already been to the Moon for NASA, so we’re excited to build on that and send Rocket Lab technology deeper into the solar system, this time to the Red Planet,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Sir Peter Beck. “Our Space Systems team has built a beautiful and highly capable pair of spacecraft to help NASA and the University of California Berkeley further humanity’s understanding of Mars. We couldn’t be prouder to be an ESCAPADE mission partner enabling science and exploration missions beyond our planet. After a meticulous but speedy build and test phase, we’re excited to have Blue and Gold on their way to the Cape and a step closer to Mars.”

"The successful delivery of the spacecraft to Kennedy Space Center marks a significant milestone and the culmination of over three years of dedicated teamwork from individuals across the project, especially our partners at Rocket Lab,” said Rob Lillis, ESCAPADE Principal Investigator and Associate Director for Planetary Science at the UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory. “Interplanetary spacecraft must be much more resilient than earth satellites, and developing not one, but two of these probes almost from scratch was no small feat. Time and again, Rocket Lab’s agility and tireless efforts have impressed me, exemplified by their frequent 'hero mode' (a saying we have on the project) to troubleshoot and keep the project on course. We couldn’t ask for better partners in this endeavor. Now, we’re thrilled to embark on this first step of our journey to Mars!"

Once launched, the ESCAPADE mission will measure plasma and magnetic fields around the Red Planet. These observations will help scientists unravel the processes that strip atoms from Mars’ magnetosphere and upper atmosphere, offering critical insights into Martian climate evolution.

About the ESCAPADE Mission

NASA’s ESCAPADE is a NASA heliophysics mission that will study Mars’ magnetosphere – the magnetized area of space around the planet – using two identical small spacecraft, which will provide simultaneous two-point observations. The spacecraft will help provide researchers a better understanding of how the magnetosphere interacts with the solar wind, and how energy and plasma enter and leave the magnetosphere. ESCAPADE is part of the NASA Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration program. The mission is managed by the University of California Berkley’s Space Sciences Laboratory, with key partners Rocket Lab, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Advanced Space LLC and Blue Origin.

About Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab is a global leader in launch and space systems. Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle is the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually and has delivered more than 190 satellites to orbit for commercial and Government partners, including NASA, the U.S. Air Force, DARPA and the NRO. Rocket Lab also delivers proven suborbital hypersonic launch capability with its HASTE launch vehicle. Building on the deep heritage of Electron, Rocket Lab is developing Neutron, an advanced 13-tonne payload class, reusable launch vehicle tailored for constellation deployment and interplanetary missions. Rocket Lab is also a premier supplier of advanced satellites, flight-proven subsystems and spacecraft components. At a component level, Rocket Lab spacecraft technology spans space solar power, composite structures, flight software, star trackers, reaction wheels, separation systems, and more. Rocket Lab satellite technology and components have been integrated into more than 1,700 satellite missions globally.

Source: Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced it has successfully hot fired its new rocket engine Archimedes for the first time, reaching a critical technical milestone toward first launch of the Company’s new medium-lift rocket, Neutron.

Rocket Lab’s engineers completed the hot fire test at the Company’s Engine Test Complex within NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Mississippi, in August 2024. Archimedes performed well and ticked off several key test objectives, including reaching 102% power, anchoring the engine’s design ahead of Neutron’s first flight scheduled for mid-2025 – a schedule that would make Neutron the fastest a commercially developed medium-class launch vehicle has been brought to market. With the hot fire complete and full qualification campaign now underway, the Rocket Lab team is moving into full production of flight engines.

Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck, says: “Hot firing Archimedes is a major development milestone for Neutron and our team has done it on an accelerated timeline. Taking a new staged combustion liquid rocket engine from cleansheet design to hot fire in just a couple of years is industry-leading stuff. We’ve been consistently impressed with the performance of Archimedes in test, including with this hot fire, so with this critical milestone completed, we move into production of flight engines confidently and begin to close out the qualification test campaign in parallel to really hone performance for launch next year. From the day we started designing Archimedes we focused on delivering a flight engine, rather than early-stage prototype destined for multiple reworks and adjustments, so it's gratifying to see this strategy bear fruit.”

The Archimedes engine will power Rocket Lab’s new reusable medium-lift rocket Neutron, a next-generation challenger to deliver a cost-effective, reliable, and responsive launch service for commercial and government missions. The advanced design of Neutron includes carbon composite for all of the rocket’s major structures and an innovative upper stage that enables high-performance for complex satellite deployments, including the deployment of satellite mega-constellations.

The Archimedes engine is an oxidizer rich staged combustion cycle engine that will power the reusable first stage of Neutron and the new rocket’s second stage that is designed to carry up to 13,000 kilograms of payload to space. Capable of producing up to 165,000 (733 kilonewtons) pounds of thrust per engine, Archimedes operates at lower stress levels than other rocket engines to enable rapid and reliable reusability. The combined thrust of nine Archimedes engines for Neutron’s first stage is designed to reach 1,450,000 lbf total. Archimedes uses a cryogenic propellant mix of liquid oxygen and LNG to enable higher reusability and performance, and many of its critical components are 3D printed including Archimedes’ turbo pump housings, pre-burner and main chamber components, valve housings, and engine structural components.

Production of the Archimedes engines takes place at Rocket Lab’s Engine Development Complex at its headquarters in Long Beach, California.

Source: Rocket Lab

Long Beach, Calif. August 5, 2024– Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, introduced its next generation satellite separation system, the Advanced Satellite Dispenser (ASD), at the Small Satellite Conference in Logan, Utah.

The ASD is a cost-effective, versatile, and reliable deployment mechanism for small satellites in the CubeSat form factor and builds upon Rocket Lab’s heritage Canisterized Satellite Dispenser (CSD) technology, which has successfully deployed more than 60 satellites to orbit across more than 11 years in use.

Innovating on its predecessor the CSD, the ASD provides customers with the option to remove encapsulation of the payload during flight or use optional walls and door, giving it the ability to fly with or without canisterization. This feature allows satellite designers increased flexibility to adapt their payloads to mission needs. This next generation satellite dispenser uses the heritage preloaded tab interface to ensure there is no slipping or gapping within the system, providing mission assurance for the payload, other payloads sharing the fairing, and the launch vehicle.

“Satellite separation systems are critical. Every payload needs one, and as the final step before a spacecraft enters orbit, they need to be dependable. For more than 25 years, first as Planetary Systems Corporation and now as Rocket Lab, our separation systems have provided this dependability with 100% mission success,” said Rocket Lab’s Vice President – Space Systems, Brad Clevenger. “The Advanced Satellite Dispenser further strengthens this deep heritage and adds another innovative product to our vertically integrated line of space systems products and services. We’ve had the benefit of working closely with customers for more than two decades to design separation systems to meet their ever-evolving needs. ASD is a direct result of this constant iteration, giving payload designers a cost-effective dispenser with fewer technical constraints, without sacrificing the reliability that Rocket Lab is known for.”

Rocket Lab expanded its development and supply of satellite separation systems and dispenser when the Company acquired Planetary Systems Corporation in 2021, a Maryland-based leader in separation systems and satellite dispensers that has been trusted by the global space industry for more than 25 years. Today, Rocket Lab’s separation systems are used on most active U.S. launch vehicles and have successfully deployed more than 360 spacecraft to orbit.

Source: Rocket Lab

Mahia, New Zealand. August 3, 2024– Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today successfully launched its 51st Electron rocket and deployed a single satellite to low Earth orbit for Synspective, a Japanese Earth-imaging company.

The mission, named “Owl For One, One For Owl” in a nod to Synspective’s StriX satellites named after the genus for owls, lifted off at 04:39 am, August 3rd NZT (16:39 UTC, August 2nd) from Launch Complex 1, Rocket Lab’s private orbital launch site on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula. The missiondeployed the fifth of Synspective’s StriX SAR-imaging satellites to low Earth orbit. In addition to the launch service, Rocket Lab provided a custom Electron fairing to encapsulate the StriX satellite and also performed an advanced mid-mission maneuver with Electron’s Kick Stage to shield the satellite from the sun and reduce radiation exposure on its way to orbit.

Rocket Lab has been the sole launch provider for Synspective’s constellation to date. This mission was the fifth launch of a total of 16 launches booked on Electron for Synspective and the second launch for the Japanese company this year, after the “Owl Night Long” mission launched in March 2024. Most recently, Synspective booked ten dedicated Electron launches as part of a new multi-launch agreement announced in June 2024, with the launches in that new deal set to take place across 2025-2027.

Rocket Lab founder and CEO Sir Peter Beck says: “It’s wonderful to have launched our second mission for Synspective in five months as we continue our longstanding launch partnership. Electron is the ideal rocket for providing flexible, tailored, and direct access to orbit for constellation builders like Synspective, and I’m proud of the team for delivering this latest mission success.

The launch window for Rocket Lab’s next Electron mission will be announced in the coming days.

About Synspective

Synspective Inc., founded in 2018, develops and operates Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites and provides SAR data and analytics solutions. We aim to develop a constellation of 30 SAR satellites by the late 2020s, allowing us to create a new system that can observe changes anywhere on Earth. With a SAR satellite constellation that enables high-frequency and high-resolution Earth observation, Synspective delivers satellite data and various analytics solutions for disaster response and management, national security, and environmental monitoring.

Source: Rocket Lab